Rick Perry who in his book "Fed Up" once called Social Security a "Ponzi Scheme" and "crumbling monument to the failure of the New Deal.” is now back peddling like a tour de France cyclist in reverse trying to do a little damage control. After all he wrote "Fed Up" before he decided to run for the White House, now he seems to have a few regrets about what he said. To wit: "He suggested the program’s creation violated the Constitution. The program was put in place, “at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government,” he wrote, comparing the program to a “bad disease” that has continued to spread. Instead of “a retirement system that is no longer set up like an illegal Ponzi scheme,” he wrote, he would prefer a system that “will allow individuals to own and control their own retirement.” Oddly enough now that Perry is in the race his communications director, Ray Sullivan is on the record touting another line: " Sullivan said Thursday that he had “never heard” the governor suggest the program was unconstitutional. Not only that, Mr. Sullivan said, but “Fed Up!” is not meant to reflect the governor’s current views on how to fix the program...In an interview, Mr. Sullivan acknowledged that many passages in Mr. Perry’s “Fed Up!” could dog his presidential campaign. "

SJG: One thing that makes this whole book thing so comical is that Perry wrote "Fed Up" in November of 2010. Talk about whiplashing the voters or more importantly flip flopping on major points of political philosophy, this guy's got it all!

Perry takes it from all sides: "It’s been hard to find a Republican willing to stick up for Rick Perry’s language on Bernanke. On Meet the Press, Mitch Daniels called his language “unfortunate;” Peggy Noonan said this is symptomatic of a “problem” the GOP field has in not exuding “moderation;” Ben Stein also used that word “moderation” and said Perry needs a “lesson in economics,” that what Bernanke’s trying is far from “radical.” Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs jumped on board the hit parade, defending the president’s “love” of America, which Perry questioned, and swatted back at Perry with this zinger: “I think for Rick Perry to, at one point, talk about secession from the union as early as--or as far back as only 2009, I think it's good that he's professed his love for this country.” Perry, for his part, initially didn’t double down on the Bernanke comments, but he was unapologetic this weekend after being asked about his comments reportedly making members of Congress nervous. "I'm sorry if I offended a congressman,” Perry said, “but the fact of the matter is I'm about representing the American people out here. And the American people are really concerned and scared, small businessmen and women are frightened about the monetary policy or the lack thereof with this administration." (Ross Douthat has Perry’s back, well, at least Texas’.)

No, I won’t Bach down: "It wasn’t just Perry taking hits for his rhetoric, it was also Michele Bachmann. She backed away from her recent gaffes, including saying: “There’s a fear that the United States is in an unstoppable decline. They see the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the Soviet Union and our loss militarily going forward.” On calling it the Soviet Union instead of Russia and citing Elvis’ birthday (when it was the anniversary of his death), she chalked them up to a busy speaking schedule. (And those are in addition to her earlier John Wayne (Gacy) and John (Quincy) Adams gaffes.) “When you speak six times a day, slip-ups can occur,” Bachmann said, adding, "The main thing people focus on in every single venue that I've been to is the economy and job creation," she said. Perhaps. But on those issues, she said the economy can turn around in one quarter (by not increasing the debt ceiling and cutting spending) and that she could reduce gas prices to $2 a gallon -- with no real plan to do so."

SJG: What Bachmann meant to say or more accurately should have said is " Whenever I speak, be it once or six times a day, you can expect slip ups to occur. Oh and by the way "Soviet Union" has been out of business for just a few decades and today's Russia, while making a bit of a comeback, is hardly on the rise the way China and India are. If you close your eyes you might think that Bachmann is channeling the foreign policy expertise of Sarah Palin who, after all, can actually see Russia from her doorstep.Now seriously folks, can anyone really see either Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann in the White House as anything other than guests of whomever might be president on the day of their visit?